“It is incumbent upon all of us to build communities with the educational opportunities and support systems in place to help our youth become successful adults.”
-US Representative Ruben Hinojosa (D-Texas)

Wentworth Institute of Technology’s ties to the Boston Public Schools run deep. Starting from its origins as an institution devoted to providing local youth with technical skills, the Institute has maintained its commitment to serving the educational needs of Boston students.

On Tuesday, October 8th, the Center welcomed faculty, staff, students and community members to our space for our Open House: co+build edition. As people came in, we asked them to answer a provided question, “What does community building mean to you?” on a white board and to put their emails next to their responses.

“This is a good plan, but the best thing about this project is that we got to know our neighbors.”

I always preface community meetings with the above quote. Whether the meeting is in Dorchester, Chelsea, or Mission Hill, it is one of those statements that make you realize that nothing is more important than the neighborhood dynamic—the community voice. The most humbling experiences (in my professional career) rest in the meeting rooms, community spaces, union halls, and worn-out infrastructure of local communities where the community members are the leaders of the conversation, forcing collaboration, forcing change. However, these meetings always end with some variation of the same two questions: “What are we going to do with this plan?” and “How are we suppose to make sure this is implemented by the city?”